I’m interested in making something romantic out of a very, very mechanistic geometry. Geometry and color represent to me an idealized, classical place that’s very clear and very pure.
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Richard Anuszkiewicz 1930–2020
Richard Anuszkiewicz was born of humble beginnings in Erie, PA to working class immigrant parents. While attending a local Catholic school, the nuns noticed and encouraged his surprisingly advanced talent for drawing. At the age of 17 he won a National Scholastic Art award and then a full scholarship to the Institute of Art in Cleveland, Ohio where he would go on to earn a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in 1953. That same year he won a prestigious Pulitzer travel fellowship. Rather than go to Europe like so many of his contemporaries, he opted to study under Josef Albers at Yale University for his master’s degree.
Albers, a German-born artist and educator, was one of the most influential visual arts teachers of the 20th century and his theory of color and iconic color square paintings had an enormous impact on Anuszkiewicz’s artistic development. After graduating from Yale, Anuszkiewicz returned to Ohio and studied at Kent State University where he earned a teaching degree. It was during this time that he devoted himself more seriously to painting and delved deeper into color theory and optical perception. At first, his paintings found tepid reception, with dealers complaining that his works were nice to look at but difficult on the eyes. This all changed after his solo exhibition at Contemporaries gallery in New York in 1960.
Auction Results Richard Anuszkiewicz
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Untitled (from the Temple Series)
result: $50,000
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Mystic Red
result: $43,750
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Untitled
result: $37,500
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Yellowing Red Portal
result: $7,800
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Reflections IV
result: $7,500
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Reflections IV - Grey
result: $4,550
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Annual Editions (four works)
result: $4,225
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Triangulated Orange
result: $3,250
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Four Annual Editions
result: $3,120
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Manhattan
result: $2,000
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Untitled (Translumina with Turquoise)
result: $1,750
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Concave Convex
result: $1,375
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Red, White and Blue from the 1776 USA 1976: Bicentennial Prints portfolio
result: $1,375
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Untitled
result: $1,125
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Neon Bands; League of Women Voters (two works)
result: $1,125
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Plate IX from the Sequential Portfolio
result: $1,000
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Red, White and Blue from 1776 USA 1976 Bicentennial Prints
result: $688
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Structured Reds (C 220)
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Red, White and Blue from the 1776 USA 1976: Bicentennial Prints portfolio